Together, Finally
by EllaSilva
Summary: In Atonement, the real truth is that both Robbie and Cecilia died, never having been together, never having been happy. But what if Robbie had survived, and due to this Cee had lived too? What if they left England, ready to start a new life far away in America. Can they ever find true happiness? Or will the demons of the past haunt them still, after all this time? Please R&R.


"Do you really think it would work?" I asked Robbie, my love, my dear, as we ransacked my London apartment, making sure to only take the important, necessary objects with us. "I mean, how are we to fool our entire families, for the rest of our lives?"

Robbie was folding a few of my nicest dresses, standing to stare as he spotted the infamous green dress, the one in which we had first made love.

"It might not work forever," Robbie said carefully, "But for now it is enough. "I am more than tired, exhausted, with our families. I cannot stand as they continue to break us apart."

"And running away is the best idea?" I asked, arching my eyebrows at him. I wish I was strong, that I could be adventurous, spontaneous… But after everything I had lived through, after everything we had been through... it was basically impossible to be that way.

Robbie and I had fought so hard for our love. We were still at war basically, still struggling to be together. It had started with the basic fact of him being in a lower class. Then there was Briony's, my kid sister's, lies which had not only separated us, but had landed Robbie in jail, and then almost dying in France. I had also alienated myself from my entire family, all because they believed the lies of a child over those of me, as well as those of my love.

Was I mad for not believing in happy endings after all of that?

I went over to the old table, where a pack of cigarettes and a lighter where sitting at. I lit one, taking a long drag and then exhaling slowly.

Robbie's arms wrapped around me, and he pulled close to him. "Cee, you do understand why this is important, why this is the only way for us to live, to be happy?"

I turned around to face him, smiling at him, making sure my smoke did not cover his face. "Entirely. I love you, and all I have ever wanted was to spend the rest of my life with you. Forever."

Robbie's lips came over mine, kissing me sweetly, but with a desperation that reminded me of that horrible summer day, the one that had changed everything. Change was coming; I could feel it, the same way it had come that faithful afternoon.

Robbie left me, going over to fold one last dress. "We can say we died, we can pretend we did."

I laughed, Robbie and his ideas, his wild imagination. "How are we supposed to ever create that? That sounds so ingenious; my family would never believe that!"

Robbie blushed, turning a beet red. "Perhaps it is not so difficult, well not impossible as you believe dear Cee."

I went over to Robbie, pulling his face to look me straight in the eye. "What did you do?" I asked, staring straight at him as I continued to smoke my cigarette.

"Has anyone ever told you that giving is rather better than receiving?" Robbie asked in a laughing tone. "What, no smoke for me?"

I smiled, "Here, do you want mine?"

Robbie shook his head, "I'll get another one, later, when we are finally done packing up."

I nodded my head, nearly forgetting the question I had wanted to ask him. "So, what exactly did you do Robbie?"

Again he blushed, this time only lightly. "If I tell you, do you promise to forgive me, eventually anyways?"

"Of course I will, I love you after all."

Robbie took a deep breath, staring straight into my eyes. "Do you remember back in June, when I was still in France? Well many of the officers around me where all dying, many where wounded, ill, dying. I also got a bit sick, but due to my wonderful genes I got better. By then they had thought me near death, therefore they proceeded to list me as a dead man."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, staring straight into his eyes. "So you are… are you supposed to be dead or something?"

Robbie looked down, nodding his head slowly. "By the time I recovered my health they had already posted it, and they would have removed it had I not asked them to keep it. Everyone believes me to have died on the first of June, of this year, 1940."

"But if you are supposed to be dead, than how are you to live?" I asked.

Robbie shrugged, "So far it has had no importance, I can take the name of another, and we can leave the country, move to America, or even far away Australia. As long as we are together, and I with you, than it does not matter at all."

"It has been four months!" I exclaimed. "Has no one noticed you are still here, with me, alive?"

How could he have planned such a thing? To fake his own death? Ten years ago Robbie had only been a young boy, so naïve, sweet, hard-working, an acquaintance at University, working hard for his degree. Now, a mere decade later, he was a soldier, a dead man to anyone who had ever met him, hiding out in my pathetic old London apartment, packing up my old belonging, ready to leave far, far away.

"No." he said. "We rarely got out, and even when we do no one notices us. We are just another couple in love in a crowded city, we only stand out to one another."

I nodded his head, "So we are to go to Scotland, right?"

Robbie nodded his head, "From there we can travel to any other part of the whole world. To me it does not matter where we are, only as long as we are together."

Robbie kissed me again. Change, always happening, always occurring, sometimes without your knowledge, without your consent…

"Now for that cigarette?" he said, smiling at me as I lit him one, handing it over to him.

"So via this train we will start our journey to Scotland, right?" I asked, taking a seat in one of the chair's in Balham's Underground station.

Robbie took the seat besides mine, "Yes. After we leave here we are on our way, on our way to a new life. To happiness."

I smiled, "To happiness."

Around us the train station was alive with people, there where many families, couples, singles, all of them boarding and taking trains, leaving London to God knows where.

"So my ticket is under my name, right?" I asked Robbie. "Where is it?"

Robbie smiled, "Of course my love. One day it will become Cecilia Turner, very soon, but for now we will have to be content with Cecilia Tallis, all right?"

Robbie handed me my ticket, and I stared at the name on the pass. _Cecilia Tallis_, the name I used to be proud to be called, now to me it was a mockery, a mirror of my old life.

"Shoot!" Robbie exclaimed, standing up and looking around.

"What's wrong Robbie?" I asked, standing up as well. "Is anything the bother?"

Robbie frowned, "I forgot my ticket, my pass at your apartment. I must have left it near the cigarettes, or maybe in the table beside our bed.

"Do not fret Robbie, we can always board the train tomorrow, or perhaps another day." I said sweetly. "Come on, let's first check if we could buy you another ticket, allright?"

Robbie nodded, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Robbie left me siting in the chair, alone. Then panicked entered me, where were our baggage's?

Silly me, Robbie had taken them to the train, probably already on board.

I sat there, watching as the people continued to pass by. The couples stood out the most to me. It was beautiful, how they were all so happy, so content. Did Robbie and I look that way? Could we pass off as carefree, normal individuals?

No, no we could not.

There was too much resentment. From both Robbie and I the resentment was as thick as ice.

Briony. I could never forget her. She was always in my thoughts, the source of my sadness, the source of my hate. God I hated her, she was my little sister, one whom I used to dote on.

Now, now I could barely stand to see her.

I wonder if she knew the truth, if she even thought about everything that she had ever done. Did she still talk with our stupid cousin, that Lola girl, did she know she was married with Marshall? Did she even feel bad about what she had caused?

I had to stop thinking about Briony, if only for fear that my hatred would someday consume me.

Yes, I had to focus on more positive things.

Like Robbie, my dear Robbie that had come back for me. He had lived, survived a war, lived through prison… all so that we could be together.

I could still remember how he had come back into my life.

_I walked up the stairs. Ugh, another day, another week that had passed by without any letters from Robbie. I could swear on my life, if I had to go another day without Robbie than I would most certainly die, I would get a gun, pull the trigger and-_

_ "Cecilia?" _

_ I turned around, to the source of the word. _

_There he was, Robbie Turner, my love. _

_I ran towards him, dropping my purse onto the ground. When I reached him all I could do was stare at him, straight into his eyes. _

_We stood that way, standing, staring into each other's eyes. _

"_Oh no, don't cry Cee." He said. _

_Crying, me? I touched my cheek, and sure enough it was covered by cold tears. "Robbie, how I have missed you."_

_Robbie sighed, "I have missed you as well. More than you could ever imagine."_

_I bit my lip, "I can't believe you're alive. I thought for sure you would have died, or at least have been injured." _

_Robbie's tough exterior suddenly crumpled, and his face came onto my shoulder, sobs and tears falling onto my dress. _

_I wrapped my arms around him, "Shh, it's okay Robbie. You're with me now, your home." _

_Robbie than hugged me tightly, "I've missed you so much. But now, now we can finally be together, now we can start our life together. Now we can start on what should have happened seven years ago."_

_I smiled, "I would have waited twenty years, even thirty, only as long as the end result had us together, in love, forever."_

_Robbie nodded his head, "Do you love me? Do you still love me? Is there no one else who holds the key to your heart anymore?"_

_ I laughed, "There could never be anyone else. I love you, and only you."_

_ Robbie then let go of me, "So do I, I have only loved you, and I will only ever love you." _

_ Robbie pulled away from me, only to hug me tighter. _

_ "Come on, let's go home.' I said, pulling him back, towards my apartment, our new home…._

"The train left, apparently two minutes ago." Robbie said, a frown ruining his beautiful face, walking towards me. "I guess we can leave tomorrow, or next week. Come on, let's go home."

I nodded my head, "Let's go home."

I turned up the stereo, it was breakfast time, and I was making eggs and coffee for Robbie and I.

_"In other news, there seems to have been an attack in London's own Balham's Underground station. The attack was due to a bomb, the reason still unknown. This attack has claimed the lives of countless victims, and injured many as well."_

"I wonderwhen this happen." Robbie said, taking a mug and serving himself a cup of coffee. "At what time?"

_"The only news we have as of right now are a few of the deceased, who are as followed." _

"Please turn that off, I detest hearing about death." I said.

Robbie complied, turning the volume down. "I do too. After seeing most of my companions die beside me death is more than too much."

I nodded my head, finishing up the eggs and then serving it for him. "Here love."

Robbie nodded his head, "Thanks dear."

I served myself some eggs, and a piece of toast, then served myself a cup of coffee. I sat down in our small table, right in front of Robbie. But instead of eating I pulled out a cigarette, smoking it as he ate.

"So, we leave tomorrow?" I asked after a long time of silence.

Robbie nodded his head, "Yes."

I nodded my head.

"So I was thinking, that perhaps we could go somewhere else." I said after I finished my smoke, and started to eat.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked me, smiling.

"I'm not sure." I admitted, "But Scotland seems too close, to nearby."

"Then where should we go?" he asked, taking a long sip of his coffee, black, as usual.

I shrugged, taking a bite of the toast. "Maybe America, or somewhere in Latin America, or even Canada. Somewhere where no one we have ever met has ever gone too, somewhere far, far away."

Robbie's eyes lit up, "America huh? That could work."

I smiled at him. Robbie, always taking charge, always making plans.

"We'll have to delay our trip for a few days, maybe a week or two. But then we would be on our way, far away to the States." Robbie said, smiling. Then he got up, picked up his plate and washed it in the sink.

As he left he leaned close to me, laying a soft kiss on my forehead. "Trust me, we are going to live, we are going to be happy for the rest of our life."

Yes, Robbie and I would live, we would be happy. We had to be.

"I'll take care of everything." He said, leaving the kitchen. "Trust me, we'll soon leave the world we have gotten used to know."

I stayed in the kitchen, trying to eat the rest of my breakfast.

For some reason the train station bombing came into my mind. Poor people, all of those who had died. It was a shame, a great shame to have had lost so many.

I sighed. What a close call Robbie and I had had, to be separated again. What would have happened had he, or I, or us both had died yesterday?

I could not even think it. Just the thought had me horrified, frozen all over.

We had had so many chances to be separated. Yet here we were, still together, still in love. We had survived; we had lived through it all.

I smiled. Yes, our love had made us stronger; our love was powerful enough to have us healthy, alive, and most important of all, together.


End file.
